PITTSBURGH—It would be silly to suggest that the Montreal Canadiens have returned to respectability on the basis of adding seven teenagers to their organization, but the performance of new general manager Marc Bergevin and his staff at the 2012 NHL Draft should inspire confidence that hockey's most storied franchise is moving in the right direction.

After taking center Alex Galchenyuk with the No. 3 pick in Friday's first round, the Canadiens continued adding first-round talent on Saturday—or, at least, talent that was thought to be first round-caliber before the draft began. Swedish right wing Sebastian Collberg, selected 33rd overall, was the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's third-ranked European skater, while defenseman Dalton Thrower, from Saskatoon in the Western Hockey League, was pegged as No. 26 among North American skaters before Montreal made him the No. 51 pick.

"Some of the guys we got, I was surprised they were still there," said Trevor Timmins, the Montreal director of amateur scouting. "Only time will tell, but right now, we're very happy. It's like Christmas Day, when Santa Claus arrives. Now we open our gifts."

It was a week before last Christmas that the Canadiens fired coach Jacques Martin hours before a game. Three weeks after delivering that lump of coal, Montreal traded Mike Cammalleri to the Calgary Flames in the middle of a game.

The chaos that marked the end of Pierre Gauthier's tenure as Montreal's general manager has been replaced by clear planning and clearer communication under Bergevin. Part of that includes a refining of the front office, with Timmins now responsible only for amateur scouting. Previously, Timmins also was involved in player development, now the domain of Martin Lapointe and Patrice Brisebois, hired by the new regime.

"I think everybody feels comfortable with it," Bergevin said. "(Timmins is) in charge of all the amateur scouting. Nothing goes by without Trevor having his hands on. He is the man. It's all he does, and it's plenty. Now, Marty and Patrice, I told them they better put their freakin' mileage on, because they're gonna be working."

Six of the new players for Lapointe and Bergeron to keep an eye on are forwards, but Montreal is not lacking for defense prospects after taking Jarred Tinordi and Nathan Beaulieu in the first round of the last two drafts. While this year's draft was rife with defensive talent, the Habs found value by going against the grain. Third-round pick Tim Bozon—the son of former St. Louis Blues winger Philippe Bozon— had 71 points in 71 games for Kamloops in the WHL this season. Fifth-rounder Charles Hudon, drafted on his 18th birthday, scored at an even greater per-game clip than Bozon, with 66 points in 59 contests for Chicoutimi in the QMJHL.

"We got talent, character, and to me those are the most important things," Bergevin said. "And these guys all fit the bill."

The headliner of Montreal's draft, of course, is Galchenyuk, who had zero points in two OHL regular-season games this season after ripping up his knee during the Sarnia Sting's preseason. The injury prevented Galchenyuk from competing with junior teammate Nail Yakupov to be the top overall pick, but not from returning in time for the playoffs and showing he was fully recovered with two goals and two assists in six games.

"I think (Montreal) got an excellent player, for sure," said Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman, Bergevin's boss until earlier this spring. "He's going to be excited with the player he chose, and I think he did quite well."

For now, it is all just thoughts, with the real verdict of this weekend to be delivered on the ice in the years to come, as it always is. The draft is all about hope and optimism, and after too long in the wilderness, those feelings have returned to the Canadiens.

"It's only, I hope, the start of a good story," Philippe Bozon said. "But he's got a lot of work to do in front of him."

Bozon was talking about his son, the third-round draft pick. He could have just as easily been talking about the man who drafted Tim.